{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.inca-rope-bridge","code":"thing-q2566155","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q2566155/","name":"Inca rope bridge","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A suspension bridge of woven grass rope built by the Inca and their predecessors across gorges of the Andes as part of the road system, with cables of twisted ichu grass anchored to stone abutments and renewed each year by local communities, the surviving example being the Q eswachaka bridge over the Apurimac River in Peru, rebuilt annually in a ceremony inscribed by UNESCO as intangible heritage.","purpose":"Let an agent explain Inca rope bridges and how they were built, relay their role in the Inca road system and the annual rebuilding of Q eswachaka from archaeological and heritage sources, describe engineering and community practice, and distinguish them from modern suspension bridges and other traditional rope bridges.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Grass rope cables","Annual renewal","Community ritual","Inca road element"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What an Inca rope bridge is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and construction.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is an Inca rope bridge, and how is it woven, anchored and tensioned?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about the historical bridges, Q eswachaka or bridge engineering in general?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"engineering","name":"Engineering","description":"Engineering.","findings":[{"id":"engineering-finding","name":"Engineering","description":"Engineering.","questions":[{"text":"How strong were the grass cables, and how did the bridges carry loads?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits suspension bridge?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","layers":[{"id":"inca","name":"Inca","description":"Inca road system.","findings":[{"id":"inca-finding","name":"Inca","description":"Inca.","questions":[{"text":"What role did rope bridges play in the Qhapaq Nan and Inca administration, as archaeologists describe?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"colonial","name":"Colonial","description":"Colonial and later accounts.","findings":[{"id":"colonial-finding","name":"Colonial","description":"Colonial.","questions":[{"text":"How did Spanish chroniclers and later travellers describe the bridges?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"heritage","name":"Heritage","description":"Living heritage.","layers":[{"id":"rebuilding","name":"Rebuilding","description":"Annual rebuilding.","findings":[{"id":"rebuilding-finding","name":"Rebuilding","description":"Rebuilding.","questions":[{"text":"How do the communities around Q eswachaka rebuild the bridge each year, and what rituals accompany it?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Quechua people?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"unesco","name":"UNESCO","description":"UNESCO listing.","findings":[{"id":"unesco-finding","name":"UNESCO","description":"UNESCO.","questions":[{"text":"Why was the practice inscribed as intangible heritage, and how is it safeguarded?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits intangible cultural heritage?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Visiting and culture.","layers":[{"id":"visiting","name":"Visiting","description":"Visiting.","findings":[{"id":"visiting-finding","name":"Visiting","description":"Visiting.","questions":[{"text":"How can visitors see Q eswachaka respectfully?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which entry fits tourism in Peru?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","findings":[{"id":"culture-finding","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","questions":[{"text":"How do Inca rope bridges appear in literature and film, such as The Bridge of San Luis Rey?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific work?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe Inca rope bridges, their construction tradition and the surviving Q'eswachaka bridge.","Credit the communities that renew the bridge each year."],"mustNot":["Encourage crossing a rope bridge outside the times and rules the community sets.","Present the bridge as an attraction without the role of the communities that keep it.","Publish images of the renewal ceremony where the community restricts them.","Claim a reconstruction is original Inca work."],"requiresHuman":["Organising visits or filming at the bridge."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["The tradition survives only if local communities keep rebuilding it.","Tourism can disrupt ceremonies and strain fragile structures."],"affectedParties":["Local Quechua communities","Visitors","Heritage bodies"]},"owners":{"steward":"The local communities that maintain it; it is recognised as intangible heritage.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q157942","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"rope bridge","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"Qhapaq Nan","type":"related","note":"the Inca road system"},{"target":"Q eswachaka","type":"related","note":"the last surviving bridge"},{"target":"suspension bridge","type":"related","note":"of modern steel"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.inca-rope-bridge","Wikidata: Q2566155 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2566155)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Q eswachaka span: about 30 m","rebuilding cycle: 1 year - June","UNESCO inscription: 2013 year - intangible heritage","historical spans: up to about 45 m - reports"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Woven grass suspension bridge of the Andes","Q eswachaka over the Apurimac, rebuilt yearly","Modern suspension bridges use steel; other rope bridges use different materials","A sagging grass-rope span with rope handrails between stone abutments."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain construction","relay history and heritage","describe engineering and practice","distinguish related bridges"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Loss of the tradition if communities stop rebuilding","Confusing with modern bridges","Damage from floods or neglect"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["UNESCO intangible cultural heritage listing","Peruvian cultural heritage protection"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Crossing gorges on the Inca road network.","historical Inca bridges of the Qhapaq Nan","the surviving Q eswachaka bridge","reconstructions and demonstrations","related Andean rope crossings"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q2566155: Inca rope bridge","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2566155","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Inca rope bridge","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_rope_bridge","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should Q eswachaka be a separate entry?","How should archaeological and heritage sources be linked?","How should the annual rebuilding be recorded?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q2566155/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q2566155/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T12:55:08Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:57+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}